Sometimes, Melissa runs her legs. Sometimes, she runs her mouth.
This is a rainbow from Mount Magazine. I was there this weekend for a CLE. Isn’t that beautiful?
Today I was born. Or more specifically, a long time ago before the internet, I was born around 6 o’clock in the afternoon.
And I’ve been raising hell …. ever since.
Things that are making me happy
I swear there’s more to my life than running but….
I joined a running club. Or it’s more of a “running clinic” which is like a school or class to help you learn to run better. I joined the Women Can Run clinic.
It was fun. We meet two times a week and do a particular exercise. For example, this week it’s run for one minute and walk two minutes for thirty minutes. And then we do an additional “exercise” After so many weeks, we will have a graduation ceremony in Conway. Whee.
I was way out of shape, even for me. This winter messed with my fitness level.
The people were nice. I won the door prize: two free personal training sessions at a gym. This gym had ZUMBA so I’m crazy lady excited about it. Yes indeedee.
LIfe is good, y’all.
Since this was my second time to run/walk the Little Rock marathon, I wasn’t exactly what you could call nervous or excited. It seemed like a natural thing to do. I was, however, a little nervous about the fact that a back number was not in my packet. I read the fees and it had language about disqualification. So I was a little anxious about that. Then again I wasn’t going to win so what would disqualification get me anyway.
I woke up and my hotel had a complimentary (err included in room fee) breakfast. I ate a bagel and banana. There were a lot of fellow runners in the lobby. One guy had named himself “Sexy Canadian” on his name badge. I got some reassurance that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t receive a “back badge” saying half and others weren’t wearing them so I didn’t feel too bad about not having one.
Then it was time to go. There’s always this buzz right before a race where you feel more alive than you will ever feel in your entire life . . . . until the next race. It’s a mixture of pure adrenaline, anticipation, and nervousness.
AND we’re off.
And I was running… then walking.. then running… then… woah what’s that in my back.
I knew it was going to be a tough race because the combination of cold and constant rain made my training pretty much non-existent. I wasn’t expecting to make the decision to walk from mile 4. So I walked.
And what a walk it was. It was sunny and it was warm. The people were cheering. I wasn’t expecting to be last. Being last is funny because there is a jeep (or van or truck) following you to let the police officers and others know that they can open traffic back up after it passes. I felt like a dictator. A benevolent dictator holding traffic up while I go on my morning stroll.
And my morning stroll became an afternoon stroll as I came in around 12:22. I came in a whole hour later than I did the year before. That was a little embarrassing. But I got my medal and I was quite proud of myself.
Sometimes the best race isn’t the one you win. It’s the race you lose with a blaze of glory. There’s honor in not going gently into that good night.
Okay I’ll stop with the cliches.
Afterward, I ate some “Perks place” grub and got one of the complimentary massages. OH lord. Some women want to marry doctors and lawyers. Screw that I’m all about the massage therapist.
So I finished and managed to knock two things down off my bucket list.
This picture cracks me up.
Say it out loud
Tomorrow morning is “race day” or the Little Rock Marathon Of course, I’m doing the half this year. My training was not what I had hoped. I let the rainy schedule mess with my schedule and I can’t do treadmills.
It should be interesting. So my goal is to finish it in the 4 hours alloted.
So yee haww.
I do get a big kick going to the Expo. There’s always other races with booths there. They have pamphlets outlining their race and they’ll have medals from years past. There’s all these running gear shops like One more mile and Run like a girl. They have the stickers with the “13.1” and the “26.2” There were several different slogans that i liked including “Yes I run like a girl . . . try to keep up” Another one is “You don’t have to go fast. You just have to go” (or something like that) There’s always the “will run for wine” and “Will run for beer.”
My number one favorite t-shirts are “13.1: I don’t go all the way” and it’s counterpart “26.2: I go all the way”
Yes, sex sells even in running gear.
There’s all the interesting people. There’s people from everywhere. There’s the 50 staters (people who try to run a marathon in each of the 50 states) and a bunch of other folks. The races are addictive. There’s something about them.
I’m typing this in the “business center” of a local hotel and so the pictures are just not here. This year is a little anticlimactic. Last year was my first race and there was all this pre race jitters and while I do have a sense of anxiety and excitement, it is nowhere near the level of frenzy of last year.
It’s surprisingly calm. My only source of angst is that I didn’t get a “back number” and I am scared I am going to get disqualified. I didn’t bother looking in my envelope of goodies to check to see if i had it. They opened it up to show my number and pulled a tag off to designate that I had gotten my t-shirt but no back number. I guess I need to go early. yikes.
My mother came up with me again this year. I’m guessing the Little Rock marathon is going to be a tradition where I bond with my Mom. We ate at Chi’s and let rice be our carbo loading. She’s got a lot of cheering to do tomorrow.
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